


Arguing Parabatai

by alynnamador



Category: TMI - Fandom, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Gen, Parabatai, Parabatai Bond, Parabatai Feels, alternate POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-29 22:57:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10863828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alynnamador/pseuds/alynnamador
Summary: Exploring who was in the room with Clary while she was awake but not really.And also, what if Alec had been there when Jace was playing piano, but he didn't speak up when Jace called to him?Taken from specific passages of the book.





	1. Alec

As Jace had so dutifully pointed out yesterday afternoon, Alec had been brooding for the past couple of days. On this particular morning, Alec was going to meet his sister in the infirmary to check on the stray that Jace brought home. Alec refused to acknowledge her further than that: a stray. Just a Mundane who had no business in this place, in this world. He wasn’t sure why Jace even bothered. To the best of his knowledge, Jace hadn’t even been to see her since he initially brought her. Alec wasn’t even sure why he was on his way to check on her.

Still, when he opened the door to the infirmary, he saw Izzy sitting the empty bed next to the girl’s, her back tall and straight. Izzy didn’t turn around to look at him, but acknowledged his presence when she moved over a bit. He padded over silently and sat next to her. The two of them sat in a comfortable silence for a long time and in that time there was a point in which he thought the girl’s eyes were moving beneath her eyelids. Alec hunched over, his elbows to his knees and studied her. 

“I told you it was the same girl.” Izzy said, finally breaking the silence. The same girl from The Pandemonium several nights ago. Alec only nodded.

“I know. Little thing, isn’t she? Jace said she killed a Ravener.” Alec narrowed his eyes at the girl. As if Jace’s story were a lie coming straight from her. There’s no way a she, a Mundane, would have been able to kill a Ravener.

“Yeah. I thought she was a pixie the first time we saw her. She’s not pretty enough to be a pixie though.” Izzy said, gesturing in the direction of the girl’s face.

Alec snorted, amused, “Well, nobody looks their best with demon poison in their veins.” He offered, then wondered why he suddenly felt as if he needed to defend her.  A beat passed. “Is Hodge going to call on the Brothers?” 

“I hope not.” Izzy said, with a dramatic shiver, “They give me the creeps. Anyone who mutilates themselves like that-”

“We mutilate ourselves,” Alec cut her off, gesturing to the scars that were left by the runes.

Izzy sighed with exasperation, waving another dismissive hand. Alec fought the urge to give her a high-five. “I know, Alec, but when we do it, it isn’t permanent. And it doesn’t always hurt.”

“If you’re old enough. Speaking of which...” He continued before Izzy could say something, “Where is Jace? He saved her didn’t he? I would have thought he’d taken some interest in her recovery.” The fact hung over Alec like a perpetual storm cloud; Jace would indeed find someone who interested him, and Alec knew that it would only rip him to shreds when he did. “Hodge said he hasn’t been to see her since he brought her here. I guess he doesn’t care.” Alec added passively. In truth, Alec hadn’t really talked to Jace much since he came back with the mundane. It was no secret that Alec was upset he brought her here to begin with, and Jace knew it. Alec closed his eyes and sighed, their friendship as of late had been rocky at best. 

Izzy’s voice pulled him from her reverie, “Sometimes I wonder if he-”  She stopped and they both stared at the girl for a moment to see that her fingers were twitching, that she was starting to move her arm. “Look! She moved!” Isabelle said very excitedly.

Alec did not share his sister’s joyful sentiments. “I guess she’s alive after all.” He heaved a slightly annoyed sigh. “I’ll tell Hodge.”

* * *

 

Alec was making his way slowly through the Institute. Though it made him feel slightly guilty to think so, he almost wished the Mundane would have died. It would mean a lot less hassle for all of them, and for the girl. If Alec was being honest with himself, he selfishly acknowledged that without the girl’s presence in their lives, Alec and Jace's life could return to some semblance of normal. He wouldn’t feel so bitter, angry and… and  _ jealous  _ all the time. 

Alec stopped and chastised himself. He was far from perfect, yes, but Alec was a better person than that. He continued forward, trying to clear his head. Jace was right, he had been brooding lately, and it was starting to take a toll

He’d only taken about two or three more steps when he heard the piano singing across the Institute. Alec didn’t need the help of his Parabatai bond to know exactly who it was sitting at the keys. Alec could feel Jace’s presence before he ever saw him, a feeling he had gotten used to after having been his Parabatai for so long. It was familiar. 

It was comfortable. 

Alec followed the sound and stood in the shadows just to watch and listen; he couldn’t place the piece Jace was playing and wondered for a moment if it was improvised. From where he stood all he could see was Jace’s back, well defined beneath an old grey shirt, and the muscles that moved in response to his hand play across the piano. Alec’s breath caught at the sight, and the music that carried across the hall reminded him of their Parabatai Ceremony, the months of training and interviews that lead up to it, and the final test after the ceremony. 

Jace had come to the Lightwood family at only 11 years old, and 12 year old Alec took an immediate liking to the boy. (Though it wouldn’t be until much later that he  _ realized  _ exactly what those feelings were.) At age 16, Jace had barged into Alec’s room one day, plucked the book out of his hand and flashed his devastatingly gorgeous smile. 

“You, Me. Parabatai. Whaddya say?” he said without preamble. 

Alec, who had been too taken aback to even notice the smile he was flashing, shook his head to clear it and responded, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“You’re already 17. Which means I’m almost 17, and it’s at least a 6 month process. We gotta do it before we’re both 18. And we never go out without each other. We fight better with each other.” 

“Have you put any thought into this at all?” Alec asked incredulously.

Jace’s demeanor suddenly became very serious, “Alec. I have been thinking about it for years. If I were to have a Parabatai, there is no one else on the earth I’d rather share that bond with. Think about it?” Jace said, handing the book back and walked out of the room. 

Alec smiled at the memory. He touched his left shoulder, where the two had agreed the rune would go.

Jace stopped abruptly, pulling Alec from his reverie, and stared into the shadows, “Alec,” he said. “Is that you?” 

Alec’s face had grown hot. He was about to respond when the girl stepped into view. “It’s not Alec,” she’d said his name so casually. “It’s me. Clary.” she padded closer to him, and Alec watched as his face softened ever so slightly while he stood up to meet her. Alec narrowed his eyes and suddenly remembered that he’d been on his way to tell Hodge that the girl was awake. Though it felt juvenile and petty, like a five year old running to tell on Jace to his parents,  he ran quietly upstairs and into the library to tell Hodge that they were coming. He then sat down on the red armchair in the shadows and waited for the pair to arrive. 


	2. Jace

Three days had passed since he brought the girl- 

No. “not little girl.”- since he brought  _ Clary _ to the Institute. Jace’s head was whirring with all of the thoughts that were fighting for his attention. He had to admit, though, that the most pressing was this girl. Jace never went to see her when there was anyone around to catch him. In truth, he’d only been to see her once, late at night while everybody else was in bed, and to the best of his knowledge, no one knew he was ever there. He wasn’t even entirely sure why he wanted to keep his interest in Clary a secret. 

Well, perhaps that wasn’t entirely true. He knew that her mere existence inside the institute was upsetting to Alec. If he knew that Jace had taken any further interest in her, it’d only upset him further. As it was, their relationship was tense at the moment, after having an argument just after Jace got out of the shower on the night he brought her here. 

They didn’t argue very often. Honestly, Alec was his best friend and he trusted no one else more than him, but when they did fight, their arguments usually ended with “We may be parabatai but...” and then Alec would storm out of the room, or pout. Just yesterday Jace had told Alec that he’d been brooding for several days too long, to which he received no response. 

Still, Jace hated fighting with Alec and really wish he’d pull the stick out of his ass so that they could kiss and make-up and go back to being an unstoppable team again. So, maybe “kiss and makeup” was an unfortunate phrase. Though Jace feigned obliviousness, he knew how Alec felt. 

Jace groaned and rolled out of bed and padded his way to the closet. There he pulled out an old faded pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt. He didn’t bother to do anything with his hair, but he did brush his teeth. He tried not to think about it, but he realized that at the rate things have been going, Clary may never wake up. He ignored the nervous shiver that crawled over his back.

When Jace found himself seated at the piano, instead of headed in the direction of the weapons room or the training room, he resigned himself to the fact that his mind, and body, needed the time for rest and reflection. With that realization, he took a deep breath and set his fingers to the keys. 

Jace liked this piano, loved it even. The weight of the keys was just right and it was always in tune. He thought for a moment before he started playing, how one of his earliest memories of this institute was looking at this piano, and appreciating its beauty. 

Jace started to play. It started out as Haydn’s Sonata in E-flat. It was one of his favorite pieces to play. But as Jace allowed his mind to wander, the piece turned from Haydn to a completely improvised piece. In another life, where his life wasn’t about killing rogue Downworlders, Jace imagined he was a world class piano player and a well respected composer. 

For several moments, Jace was looking down at his hands. He was still so fascinated with his own abilities to play the piano. He closed his eyes and let the sound of the hammers hitting the strings, the pitch that came from each of those strings, the air between each note and the next, the rests and pauses surround him. 

His improvisation turned to a melody that reminded him of Alec, and a twinge of guilt passed over him. If the boy wasn’t so stubborn about the whole situation, there wouldn’t be this rift that has formed between the two of them. Though not in the same way that Alec loved him, Jace did love Alec; as his best friend who immediately accepted him after the tragedy he’d faced, as his his Parabatai, and the person he trusted most in this world, and above all other things- as his brother in the family he was adopted into. Jace looked down at his right shoulder. Though he couldn’t see it, he knew the rune that Alec had drawn onto him was there. Jace realized long ago that there was nothing he wouldn’t do for the boy. 

Jace focused his attention back to the keys. He knew he should go and talk to Alec, apologize for anything that he blamed him for. As irritating as it could sometimes be, Alec almost never apologized first. 

Through that bond that they share, Jace could sense that Alec was close. So he stopped and looked up. Now was a good of time as any to try and make amends. “Alec? Is that you?” He called into the shadows. Jace was certain he was close.

“It’s not Alec. It’s me.” Said a female voice. The source of the voice stepped out of the shadows. “Clary.” Jace stood and surveyed her up and down, electrically aware that Alec’s presence in the room was beginning to fade very quickly.

He looked over the girl, startled to see her body animated instead of just a sleeping corpse. “Our own sleeping beauty.” He said flashing a grin, “Who finally kissed you awake?” he asked. Something in the back of his mind told him that it was him who should have.

Who  _ wanted _ to.

“Nobody. I woke up on my own.”

Jace raised an incredulous eyebrow. “Was there anyone with you?”

He watched her eyes flicker up to the ceiling and then back down, not quite meeting his gaze, “Isabelle, but she went off to get someone- Hodge, I think. She told me to wait but-” She trailed off.

Jace was amused. “I should have warned her about your habit of never doing what you’re told.” He surveyed her for a third time. “Are those Isabelle’s clothes? They look ridiculous on you.” he jibed. 

“I could point out that you burned  _ my _ clothes.” She retorted.

_ Touche. _

“It was purely precautionary.” He surmised, taking a step back to slide the piano cover gently over the keys. With a deep breath, he continued. “Come on, I’ll take you to Hodge.”

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I wrote this A LONG time ago, before even the movie (which we don't talk about) came out. I found it in the dark depths of my external hard drive and fixed it and now here we are. This isn't my best work, but I was also very young so...?  
> I'm a fan of taking passages and making them from other characters POVs.  
> I'm sorry the title is so bad, I made it up on the spot. Maybe I'll think of a better one some day.  
> I feel like this is somehow relevant again because of the TV show, but I've never seen it.


End file.
